N.L. urged to rethink Muskrat Falls megaproject

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A former director of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro says the economics of the proposed $6.2-billion Muskrat Falls megaproject are dangerous and could result in higher power costs for consumers.

Edward Hearn and two others held a news conference in St. John’s on Tuesday to urge the provincial government and Nalcor Energy to consider alternatives to the project.

He questioned what rising rates would do to the province’s ability to attract and maintain business and industry.

“What’s the driver for industry? The question will be whether or not we can keep our own,” he said.

Hearn was joined at the news conference by Richard Cashin, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union and a former Liberal MP, and Dennis Browne, a St. John’s lawyer and a former consumer advocate with the Public Utilities Board.

The three urged the provincial party leaders, now on the campaign trail for the Oct. 11 election, to commit to a public debate on Muskrat Falls. They want the commitments made during a televised leaders’ debate Wednesday night.

“I think the public has the right to have a much more thorough discussion,” Cashin said.

He said the Muskrat Falls project and overall plan for the Lower Churchill in Labrador is “the most significant” issue facing the province.

Cashin said provincial taxpayers are being asked to take on a huge risk and he questioned the ability of the project to remain on budget.

“I’m more likely to give birth than that is to happen,” he said, adding that a cost overrun of up 50 per cent “is not at all impossible.”

Browne, meanwhile, said the focus of the government needs to be on the impacts on people today and in the immediate future, rather than “50 years” down the road.

The three advocated utilizing existing power generators on the island, supplemented by smaller projects, until the agreement on power from the Upper Churchill dam is renegotiated in 2041.